At the end of October a meeting was held in Turin of European Fourth International activists engaged in the workers' struggles which developed in most of the countries in Western Europe. Delegations from the following countries attended the meeting: France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and Belgium. The Italian delegation was composed of militants from a dozen cities. Many workers were present, either as members of the delegations or as invited guests.
The first part of the conference—which lasted two days—was devoted to six reports on the political situation and tendencies in the workers' struggle in the various countries at the present stage. The general picture presented was one of profound political and social [illegible] on the continent [illegible].
In particular, the reporter on France, a member of the Political Bureau of the Ligue Communiste [French section of the Fourth International], was strongly of the opinion that in his country tension has not decreased and that the combativity of the working class has in no way diminished. The recent struggles in France have clearly demonstrated this. Although kept under control by the unions, they are the result of considerable pressure from below, and have often begun behind the backs of the union bureaucrats.
As for Italy, there exists a veritable prerevolutionary situation, as the reporter, Moscato, a member of the Political Bureau of the Italian section, brought out.
A symptomatic fact is that even in a country like Denmark, wildcat strikes have developed, according to the Danish reporter.
The German reporter, for his part, stressed the significance of the wildcat strikes in certain regions in recent months and the problem of the relations between the worker and student movements.
The reporter on Belgium spoke of the quiescence of the Belgian working class for several years, But at the same time he stressed some symptoms of a revival.
While noting that his country has still not emerged from a half century of social stability (the last strike was in 1918), the Swiss reporter analysed the economic contradictions in Switzerland in the present stage.
The second part of the conference was marked by reports on particular experiences. A member of the Central Committee of the Ligue Communiste spoke about the situation in the Renault plants, especially in Cleon and Le Mans, and described his organisation's work there. Another French delegate reported on the experience of Rhodiaceta.
A member of the Turin Trotskyist group, a young worker in the FIAT plant, gave a graphic sketch of the struggles in the big automobile factory during recent months. He explained the orientation [illegible] [Workers' Initiative]. Other Italian comrades reported on the situation at Pirelli in Milan and in other industrial centres on the peninsula.
[illegible] this type in the activity of the revolutionary students in Flanders.
The third part of the conference consisted of an examination of [illegible] European [illegible] on the construction of Rouge [Ligue Communiste's weekly paper] [illegible] fractions in the unions, essentially at the plant level.
In Italy, while staying in the unions and fighting the ultra-left [illegible] operate independently [illegible] called movement of rank-and file committees, which have recently begun to establish their first link-ups on a national scale (these were established by workers in several important plants in certain important working-class centres, including Turin, Milan, Rome, Venice, Bari-Taranto, etc.). Worker members of the Fourth International are members of the coordinating committee. On this basis, there is collaboration between the Trotskyist current and some currents in Potere Operaio [illegible] organisation of the rank-and-file committees.
The conclusion that the delegates drew from this discussion was that existing tactical differences do not involve divergences in general conceptions but derive fundamentally from different objective situations and different relationships of forces at the organisational level.
The conference concluded with a summary by Comrade Livio Maitan, a member of the United Secretariat of the Fourth International, which will be published shortly in an abridged form. This speech ended with an appeal for stepping up the campaign of solidarity and aid for the Bolivian Trotskyists, both for those imprisoned and those who are continuing their struggle in very difficult conditions.